It Doesn't Just Happen
by SilentG
Summary: Alexandra Eames isn't making any friends at SVU. What happens when they find out her secret? B/A compliant to S10, companion to SVU episode 'Acceptable Loss'


**Author:** SilentG  
**Title:** It Doesn't Just Happen  
**Fandom:** LO:CI  
**Pairing:** B/A  
**Rating:** K  
**Spoilers:** Nope  
**Archive:** Anywhere – no need to ask – just attribute, and let me know if possible  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine  
**Summary:**Alexandra Eames isn't making any friends at SVU. What happens when they find out her secret? B/A compliant to S10, companion to SVU episode 'Acceptable Loss'

**A/N 1:** Another speculative fic about Eames on SVU, this one based on the tiny bit more info I couldn't keep myself from learning.

~.~.~.~.~

"Captain, there must be something we can use?"

Their case was stalled, they'd lost control, and Cragen's team was frustrated enough to try to impugn the chippy Lieutenant from Counter-Terrorism standing in their way. He'd exited his office to find the whole bunch: Benson, Finn, Munch, Rollins & Amaro all in a klatch at Benson's desk, gnawing.

Even if there had been something… unless it was something really bad, Cragen would have brushed them off, but as it happened there was no need. Lieutenant Eames was as titanium-clad as she seemed. "She's a standup cop, there's… nothing."

"Captain?" Olivia Benson, the best in his squad, knew him too well. He'd stumbled over his response and she was on it like… a good detective.

Which meant? Nothing. It was none of their business. He appealed to her compassionate nature. "Everybody's entitled to a little privacy, Liv. And a little bit of happiness if they can find it." He felt protective towards the tiny Lieutenant, even a little bit defensive. Who among them wouldn't grab a chance at love, wherever it bloomed?

"What exactly are you saying, Cap?" He'd put his foot in it. When it came to cops and personal information, there was no line to cross. No empathy to be had. A good detective was trained to take every piece of information and evaluate it on its own merits, not look the other way and take someone else's word that it was irrelevant. Not to mention the fact that first responders were notoriously gossipy. Aah well… despite the fact that Lieutenant Eames had certainly come to expect this kind of scrutiny – and it was a matter of public record – his team would learn nothing from him.

"Lieutenant Eames has given exemplary service in all her assignments, right back to her academy days. There is nothing in her history that anyone ethical could use against her."

It was the best he could do. He knew it wouldn't be enough…

**o.o.o.o.o**

Cragen discreetly cracked the door to his office when he heard Detective Amaro call out to his colleagues. When the Captain had left them to their own devices, he knew they'd go digging. Well, let 'em. Maybe rummaging around Eames's personal life would teach them something about themselves.

"Well, she's been married twice. Her first husband was a cop, killed in the line of duty." Amaro rolled his chair back a bit when Detective Rollins stepped over and leaned over to look at his computer screen. "I remember that case. Turned out they convicted the wrong man… Eames and her partner…" he paused and started blinking.

Rollins kept reading for him. "Her second husband, was also a cop… he recently retired…" She stepped back and put her hand over her mouth.

"No wonder she changed squads." Something in Munch's tone led Cragen to suspect he already knew the truth.

"What? Why did she change squads?" From his desk Cragen could see the looks of regret from Rollins and Amaro as Olivia marched over to read the incriminating entry. As she took in the words, Liv's energy seemed to fold and turn in on itself, making her seem somehow diminished yet reinforced by a concentration of ire. Cragen flinched a little when she turned and leveled a bitter scowl in his direction.

"It happens, Liv." Finn had remained quiet, although he had as much to lose as any of them as long as Eames stood in their way.

"It doesn't just HAPPEN. It's dangerous and unprofessional." Benson was furious, almost near tears.

"Neither of them was reprimanded, Liv. It doesn't look like anything untoward happened." Amaro, the peacemaker. His words only made Olivia angrier.

"Nothing untoward? She slept with her partner."

"No, she married her partner," Rollins corrected with a bit of heat. "And then they disclosed and she changed squads." Cragen's team began shuffling away, their taste for salacious details apparently diminished.

"Well who knows how long it was going on for." Alone save for Amaro, who'd turned his back on her and returned to his work, Benson stomped back to her desk.

"Liv, let it go. It's none of our business," Finn said to her back.

"Behaviour that compromises our integrity is everybody's business."

**o.o.o.o.o**

Lieutenant Eames chose that moment to return to the squadroom, and Cragen stood up, prepared to intervene should the situation require it.

Things seemed calm enough though, so much so that when the bomb dropped, he was too slow to take action.

"So, what happened to your partner?" Liv's question, innocent on its own, made every member of his team tense up.

"He left." Eames's answer was smooth, with just enough inflection not to seem like a throwaway.

"Oh? Where'd he go?" In a roomful of her colleagues, Benson was nevertheless alone in questioning the Lieutenant. Her solo inquiry, less impactful than tag-teaming, still left Cragen rigid with anxiety.

But Eames was all over it. If she'd been speaking to people who didn't know the truth, they'd have never known they were being deceived. "If you find out, let me know," she said with a smirk.

"Liv!" Munch's warning bark might have been a dog whistle for all the reaction she gave.

"You mean he's not at home? Your… home?" The question stilled Eames's movement and she slowly turned, taking in the attentive faces of their audience. Taking stock.

She smiled – an expression at once sardonic, self-deprecating and happy – and shrugged an 'OK, you got me' shrug.

But still cool as a cucumber. "Reading up on me, I see. Anything interesting?"

"Detective Benson!" Wanting to save his detective from an embarrassing display, he tried to forestall her answer.

Eames held up a hand. "It's OK Captain." She turned and addressed the room. "We didn't break any rules, in letter or in spirit. As soon as we knew, we voluntarily split up. There were a few whispers, it was a bit awkward, and then it died down. Every now and then people with nothing better to do bring it up again."

In the ensuing silence, she just stood. Small in stature but after that speech, about a million feet tall. Sucking in her cheeks, she arched an eyebrow and looked around, then turned on her heel. Before she could take two steps, Olivia found her voice. "If you did nothing wrong, then why did he retire?"

The tough lieutenant turned back and her face was soft. She'd chosen several hard roads, but somewhere inside her was a ribbon of tenderness. "He retired because he was afraid his mere presence on the force would hurt my career."

"It doesn't seem to have," Rollins quipped. Tension broken, his whole squad seemed to relax.

Eames smirked. "He won't be satisfied until he's married to a Captain."

"Should I be nervous?" Cragen asked. Everyone laughed, even Liv.

Once her business was concluded, Cragen escorted Lieutenant Eames out of the squadroom.

He returned to a much-improved group. Detective Finn was speaking.

"You know, I worked with both her husbands. She's got good taste."

~.~.~.~.~

Please review! But please, please please don't spoil me! I don't want to know what happens in the Eames on SVU episodes! I'm too scared! Pleeassse help keep me in the dark.

**A/N 2:** If you loved this fic, you might hate my new fic "Brownied Girl". Not sure if it's too scary, or people don't like crossovers… but if anyone's avoiding it cuz it seems to lack B/A-ness, remember that appearances can be deceiving! I'd rather eat glass than read a non-BA fic, LOL. D'ya think I'd actually write one?

WORDS: 1329 UPLOADED Tuesday, October 16, 2012


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